It’s called the Trojan Female Technique and it’s involves a mutation in females that makes all their male offspring infertile. Because it is a gene, not a virus, it stays within that particular species and is spread from one generation to the next by breeding, not by disease. It has the potential … [Read more...] about Trojan Possums – are they the next step?
Success stories
Detecting predators – can you count on chew-track-cards and WaxTags?
Fundamental to a well-managed pest control programme is detecting what predators you have and monitoring the changes in abundance as your trapping regime progresses. Leg hold traps are a traditional way to achieve this, but may not be sensitive to possum presence when possum levels are at very low … [Read more...] about Detecting predators – can you count on chew-track-cards and WaxTags?
Advocacy and active predator control on the Coromandel
When a small group of Coromandel locals got together in 2000, wanting to do something for the environment, they could little have imagined the sheer scale of conservation work being done by their members today. Sixteen years after the Moehau Environment Group (MEG) was first formed, the 100-strong … [Read more...] about Advocacy and active predator control on the Coromandel
Learn how to get the most out of your Goodnature traps (webinar)
Robbie Van Dam from Goodnature discusses their automatic self resetting traps. You will learn: how to use the traps in the most effective way (for different pest animals) trap placement about the most effective lures some insights into their community projects about Goodnature's … [Read more...] about Learn how to get the most out of your Goodnature traps (webinar)
Learn how to get the most out of your DOC trapping series (webinar)
Darren Peters from the Department of Conservation discusses the DOC series of traps (150, 200 and 250). You can expect to learn: how to use the DOC series of traps in the most effective way (for different pest animals) trap placement about the most effective lures about some of the … [Read more...] about Learn how to get the most out of your DOC trapping series (webinar)
New ways to combat possums
Rest assured, New Zealand’s scientific community are beavering away to find new and better ways to combat possums. These are just a few of the research reports investigating possum control recently published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology. Firstly a poison bait evaluation was … [Read more...] about New ways to combat possums
Secrets of Mangarakau Wetlands revealed
There’s something rather special about wetlands – and not just because they’re becoming increasingly rare. There is an air of secrets and mystery, of strangeness lurking just below the waterline. There is, for example, the mudfish. Mudfish are fish without scales that can survive without water – … [Read more...] about Secrets of Mangarakau Wetlands revealed
Friday afternoon reads… island recovery
For thousands of New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic mice, their sojourn on the Antipodes is almost over. Endemic beetle and moth populations will finally get a chance to recover and nesting seabirds will be free of encroaching rodent harassment. The Million Dollar Mouse operation has put the spotlight on … [Read more...] about Friday afternoon reads… island recovery
Habitat modification – complex relationships
Habitat modification – what’s good for native wildlife and what isn’t? Weta can thrive, living in the crevices provided by large introduced trees. Cutting those trees down to plant native saplings may not benefit weta – in the short-term at least. When grazing livestock are removed from regenerating … [Read more...] about Habitat modification – complex relationships
Local marae community inspires environmental change
Good things – even great things – can come from inauspicious-seeming beginnings. In 2010 a proposed new wastewater system got people worried in the small, remote East Coast settlement of Mahia, located on the Mahia Peninsula, between Napier and Gisborne. The effect of other land usage on water … [Read more...] about Local marae community inspires environmental change